Landslide victory for Hungary’s conservative opposition

Fidesz, the conservative Hungarian party, has won a two-thirds majority in parliament, according to official results.

With about 99% of all votes counted, Fidesz is projected to have won 263 seats in the 386-seat parliament, ending eight years of Socialist government.

The incumbent Socialists placed a distant second, obtaining 59 seats, while the far-right Jobbik took 47 seats. A new Green party, called Politics Can Be Different, received sixteen seats, and an independent candidate took the remaining seat.

With this power change, Fidesz now has the ability to unilaterally alter the constitution, having more than the required two-thirds majority – or 258 seats – needed to do so.

Hungarian prime-minister elect and leader of Fidesz Viktor Orban commented on his victory in a speech in front of supporters in the capital of Budapest, saying: “We saw a revolution in the polling stations. Fidesz Hungarian Civic Alliance and the Christian Democrat Party have gained 68 per cent of mandates in parliament.”